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Finding information and resources
online can be tedious and frustrating; there's a lot
more useless debris than valuable information out
there. These links are my way of separating the
wheat from the chaff.
I know almost everybody linked to
here and feel real good about steering others their
way...
Live in
Michigan?
Links to good people and places here in Michigan
Herb
Sites...
The best herbs sites online I know of, offering
excellent articles and resources for learning cool and
useful stuff.
Herbal Listserves and Forums
Online herbal email lists and herb
forums can be invaluable means of learning,
especially in areas not teeming with herbalists to
get varied perspectives from.
Blogs...
Some nice ones worthy of regular browsing...
Identification...
Remarkably good online photos &
identification info
Wildcrafters,
Growers, and Medicine Makers…
Links to the best sources
for obtaining the highest quality fresh & dried herbs
and herbal preparations, direct from the people who
grew, collected or created them. This is one of
the of the most valuable resources I've put on this
site.
Myth &
Lore...
A collection of folklore and
traditional stories about plants
Henna...
Info on how to delve deeply into
dying the skin with henna...
Totally-Unrelated-To-Herbs-But-Still-Cool...
Other sites I like and get a kick
out of linking to
Poetry...
Purely self indulgent. Some
of my favorite poems.
Live in
Michigan?
Michigan Natural Health
Coalition
The MNHC is working to establish a health freedom
act in Michigan. What is that, you wonder?
On a basic level, it allows various natural health
practitioners the right to practice their arts
without restrictive licensure (we do not want
licensure), based on the notion that adults can make
responsible decisions about what healthcare options
they choose and be responsible for those decisions.
Establishing health freedom is one of the most
important goals we can work towards in regards to
protecting our rights to choose how we take
responsibility for our health and who we choose to
help us explore the many options available to us.
Upland Hills Ecological
Awareness Center
One of
my favorite "lurking places"... I teach here every
couple months. A true treasure, we/they offer
programs covering a wide spectrum of holistic topics,
from herbs & holistic practices to sustainable energy
to Native American Ceremony. If you live
anywhere nearby, please check it out...
Tall Trees Community
Farm
Tall Trees is
the vision of Terry Kelly, and is in
the process of becoming another of the important
centers in Michigan that explores the connection
between health and nature, spirit and stewardship,
education and peace. More than a farm, Tall
Trees will offer its community a beautiful preserve
that houses workshops ranging from traditional arts
to sustainable energy choices to natural community
building. If this is the sort of thing you
feel our world needs most, contact them and see how
you can help as they manifest this intention.
Nature's
Products
No
website to link to, but Gary Wanttaja has the best
selection of dried bulk herbs anywhere around, and is
probably one of the wisest plant people I know of,
possessed of admirable knowledge and a singular sense
of humor... I recollect once asking him what Wahoo was
for and he, totally deadpan, answered, "It's for when
you're depressed" (Wahoo!). Nice. Nature's
Products is located in Detroit at 20020 Conant (minutes
from I-75 & 8 Mile Road); give him a ring at (313)
891-3900 for current hours.
Jen Green, ND
Jen Green is a
Naturopathic Doctor who's moved to Orchard Lake from
Toronto, where she had a holistic clinic specializing
in women's health, pediatrics and cancer care. I
met her at a Holistic Mom's pot luck, where we started
talking 'bout our practices over a bowl of burdock and
have more or less kept up the conversation since
then... Jen is kick ass, and I jive with her clinical
sensibilities enough to feel completely confident
referring clients (or any of you all) to her.
She's a real Canadian, too, as evidenced by her saying
"herb" with a soft "h" (this is a dead giveaway for
brits, aussies, and canadians...). A welcome
addition to Michigan, she is...
Gaia's Garden
I've known
Betty Rinaldi for awhile now, and right from the
get-go, we connected like a burr and a sweater.
The last couple years we've been trading teachings; me
offering an herbwalk for her students and her coming
to share about women's health for mine. Betty's
got equal parts intuitive understanding and practical,
grounded wisdom; which makes her pretty damn cool
indeed.
Weed Dance Farm
Shawna
Greenway's an herbalist, homesteader, weedeater and
steward of a beautiful piece of land in Gobles,
Michigan, just west of Kalamazoo. There she
offers classes, moonlodges, a Weed Dance Weekend and
occasionally hosts a wiley herbalist herbalist from
the other side of the state (hmmm.... who do you
think that could be?). Weed Dance Farm is a
blessing to West Michigan, and if you live out
thataway, it's well worth the visit.
Bronwen Wildflower Gates
Bronwen is one
of my favorite plant people round these parts, and I'd
highly recommend taking a class, enrolling in her
herbwyfe prgram, or listening to a
story with her... she's delightful to spend time with
and speaks so beautifully... She works with herbs,
flower essences and other energetic modalities.
Creekside
Herbs & Art
My
friend Wendy Wagoner’s place in Cedarville, about 20
minutes or so east of the bridge in the UP… a
beautiful shop with handcrafted artisan crafts, herb
gardens, a glass blowing studio, and kayak rentals so
you can go check out the beautiful Les Cheneaux
Islands. Creekside is also a United Plant Savers
Botanical Sanctuary.
Moonlight
Mile Herb Farm
My
friend Susan Burek's fledgling herb farm, offering
certified organic herbs and guinea fowl to boot.
Yule Love It Lavender Farm
Iris Lee
Underwood's small organic farm offers several
varieties of lavender, in bundles or "you pick".
The first time I was out there and stoof in front of
the gardens on a hot summer day with the breeze
blowing towards me I gained an entirely new
appreciation for lavender the the EO just can't
touch...
Sunshine Herb Farm
Sunshine has a
real nice selection of medicinal plants; cool stuff to
plant like Celastrus scandens (mine's doing great),
Wood
Betony (the European Stachys), Passion Flower, and
most of the stuff that you might have found in Brother
Cadfael's Apothecary (for the initiated).
Located near Ann Arbor,
they offer organically grown medicinal and culinary
herbs...
Herbal
Alliance of Northern Michigan
Herbalists working together here in Michigan... a few
years ago, who'd have thunk? These folks put on
a great conference last July (2004), and I hope we'll
see more good stuff happening in the future.
New Moon
Midwifery
If you live
anywhere near Ann Arbor, and are looking for a midwife
to guide you through a homebirth, I couldn't possibly
Amanda & New Moon enough... beautiful
people, doing beautiful work. We've got two
wonderful little boys to prove it.
Wildwood Wholistic Arts
Amanda Schubert
is an apprentice midwife, doula, massage therapist, and has an admirable
quantity of simple green wisdom and exuberant
spontaneity...
Waterford Life Chiropractic
Dr. Adrian
Gaviglio (the 2nd "g" is silent) is one of the coolest
practitioners of any sort I've ever crossed paths
with. He radiates both confidence and
compassion, has a great sense of humor, makes good
wine and most importantly, is quite good at what he
does. As I get a fair number of referrals in
using herbs to address back and joint injuries,
I'm frequently also referring these people to see a
good chiropractor, and if asked for a name, this is
the one I give. No website, but his number is
(248) 681-7655.
Leaf Lotions
Cheryl Miller
has created a line of soaps, lotions and aromatics
made with an intense passion and a deep connection to
the plants she's using. She distills her own
hydrosols (yes, that extremely cool still on the
homepage is hers), and beyond that, she grew
the three or four hundred lavenders she used to make
the lavender flower water... nice.
Artemisia
I met Caryn at
an herb conference in Traverse City, and kept in touch
with her since; turns out we know more than a few of
the same people and I had been using her "whole baby
salve" on my little boy's... well, I'd best not
embarrass him. She offers doula services, knows
how to weave hammocks, dyes with plants, and weaves
other stuff, too. Nice, nice diction, on that
site...
Far East Ginseng
Herbs and Tea
Far East
Ginseng is a Chinese herb store on the northeast
corner of 14 Mile and Dequindre (is that Warren or
Sterling Heights?). They've got lots of
Chinese herbs available, but if you're gonna go in
looking for something in particular, you'd best know
at least the Latin and ideally the Chinese name for
it. If you're looking for raspberry leaves or
burdock root, you're better off going to Nature's
Products, but if you suddenly discover you're on you
last zi wan root, this is probably the place
to go. The "shopping" part of the website, by
the way, in no way represents what they have in the
way of bulk herbs or what the store is like.
It's worth a visit.
Crazy Wisdom Calendar
The
Crazy Wisdom Bookstore (and tea
room) in Ann Arbor puts out a free calendar
of event listings a few times a year, which (when I
remember and don't put it off till to late) I always
find rewarding to post classes in; check out the
herbs section to see
if I've been on the ball, and also to check out the
classes by other cool folks here in SE Michigan.
It should be said that the bookstore itself is pretty
damn coo, too.
Deanne Bednar's Strawbale Studio
Deanne Bednar is a dear
friend and wowie-zowie, what a cool, cool building
she's created. If you live within driving distance,
you've simply got to check this out... it's literally
like walking into a fairytale cottage. Plus, you'll
get to spend some time hanging out with Deanne, which
will leave you wondering whether she just isn't the
fairy in the fairytale...
You can also check out Deanne's
work at
Kensington Metropark's Kids
Cottage.
Wild Michigan
Scott
Coleman has collected an admirable number of links and
resources for those interested in honing their
wilderness skills. From flint knapping to tracking to
starting bow & drills fires, if you want to learn how
to do it, you can probably find an opportunity here.
Hiking
Michigan
Hiking Michigan
is dedicated to encouraging people to get out into the
parks here in Southeast Michigan and enjoying their
bounty. They're organizing hiking groups and
have published a map book of many of our local state
and metroparks, complete with trails and indications
of habitat...isn't that cool? Certainly well
worth having methinks...
Herb
Sites...
Southwest School of
Botanical Medicine
Michael
Moore's site. Go out and get 30 or so ink cartridges,
a hundred and seventy reams of paper, and put that
printer to the test. All the eclectic books you'd like
to have, but are either out of print or too expensive.
Herbalists everywhere own Michael a debt of gratitude
for the immense amount of work he's put into making
such valuable information accessible...
Henriette's
Herbal Homepage
Probably the best herb
site online. Has most of the stuff on Moore's site
(plus Cook's & King's Dispensatory's) but is fully
searchable and excellent for cross referencing. You
should also check out the
herblist Henriette runs, if
you're a complete herb-nerd who likes your inbox to be
filled with emails titled "diverticulitis" and "herbs
for an infected toe". And, our ever
prolific Henriette's got a pretty damn cool
blog,
to boot. Henriette has made more unstateably
valuable information available online (and free,
no less...) for our collective benefit than probably
anyone else in the world.
Matthew Wood
Matthew Wood is simply an incredible herbalist.
His Book of Herbal Wisdom was truly a powerful
catalyst (or maybe catapult?) in my adventures in
learning about herbcraft, and both inspired new
understanding and reaffirmed much of what I'd come to
sense about working with herbs. He's a
remarkably good writer, and has found a beautiful
blend of herbalism, homeopathy, flower essences,
alchemy and indigenous herbcraft. His site,
entirely revamped in late 07, is now filled with
some
really wonderful treasures. The
TC
Wellness site also has several excellent articles by
Matt in the archives worth checking out, which
have finally been listed all on one page…
David Hoffmann
David Hoffmann is an
excellent herbalist, and has written some of the most
accessable information available to beginning and
intermediate herbalists. His Holistic Herbal
("New" or "Illustrated") is a must have book.
This new link connects you to dozens of articles,
grouped by topic, so you don't have to navigate the
treacherous and peril laden healthy.net site.
Paul Bergner's
Medical Herbalism
Paul edits Medical
Herbalism, an journal for practicing herbalists, and
has blessed us with some great links and, even better,
a smattering of
articles from Medical Herbalism...
check out the stuff written by
Bloyer... excellent,
indeed. Paul also runs the
North American Institute of
Medical Herbalism.
Rosemary
Gladstar
Rosemary is just
really cool. I couldn't state emphatically
enough that if you have the opportunity to see her
somewhere, you should take it, and if you don't see a
readily-had opportunity, you should do your best to
find one. I don't think you could spend a day
with her and not be left vigorously inspired by her
"viriditas"...
Rosemary is a walking example
of the good a green consciousness will do you.
You might ask to hear her story about the woman, the
"dying cat", and the valerian...
Karyn Sanders is an incredible voice in the herbal
world... I say voice both figuratively and literally,
as she hosts a radio show in California called
Herbal
Highway, which you can listen to when your eyes say
"no" to reading and a trip out into the wild isn't
practical. I can't say how impressed I am with
the perspective and wisdom she offers... this is a
person who clearly knows what's up. Karyn's
background is deeply rooted in Native American
traditions, which she blends artfully with western
herbalism and decades of clinical experience. Having
her shows available to listen to online is truly a
blessing, and one not to be passed up.
David
Winston
David Winston's site has some excellent
articles he's
written, as well as .pdf files of interest to those of
us herb nerds who dig on vintage nineteenth century
eclectic and physiomedical herbalism. If you really
want to discover how a website can act as a sialagogue,
check out the
Herbalist and Alchemist Books link… gadzooks…
Wise Woman Healing Ways
Robin Rose Bennett offers classes,
walks and apprenticeships in the New York/New Jersey
area, and possesses the admirable virtue of being
"insightful". I've gotten to know her a wee bit via
Henriette's herblist,
and I really admire her ability to see beyond "this
herb for that" and recognize the patterns and energies
that give one a greater perspective on what's really
at play in a given situation. Her site has some
thoughtful
articles and
presentations available for
listening.
7song
7song runs the Northeast School of
Botanical Medicine in Ithica, NY, and has revamped
his site to include a number of new
articles and such,
and appears to be gearing up to establish an
extensive uniquely searchable
photo archive...
how damn cool is that? 7song also has a nice
sense of wit, which peep out of his writings like
the proper use of spices.
Susun Weed
Susun is probably one of the most
well known herbalists in the world, renown as a herald
of the wise woman tradition, for her encyclopedic
knowledge of herbalism and oftimes iconoclastic
insights about healing. Her site is extensive,
and offers a number of excellent
articles and an
active and lively
discussion forum in
addition to information about her classes and
programs.
Michael & Leslie Tierra
The East~West/Planet
Herbs site hosts a slew of
articles covering a
diverse range of history, treatment protocols &
insights into various healing modalities. The
Tierra's are renown for the fusion of North American
botanicals and the Eastern structures of TCM &
Ayurveda, but western-oriented herbalists like myself
can happily lose themselves in gems like
What is eclecticism?
& also rare
books like Eli Jones's "Cancer,
It's Causes Symptoms and Treatment" (which
you can't read and not just come to the conclusion
that Jones was way cool). There are also
numerous options in the way of educational
opportunities offered.
Donald Yance
Donald Yance has
focused his practice on those suffering Cancer,
HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other complex illnesses.
His site offers some excellent articles on
constitutional therapy, a real nice write up on a
holistic approach to high cholesterol & heart disease
(including info on why statin drugs are so evil), and
information on the use of adaptogens. Best of
all, these are nice long write ups... some
almost 30 pages.
Todd Caldecott
Todd has some nice
articles on his site, among which is a real gem of a
write up on the Vitalist principles of
Physio-Medicalism, which, along with the Eclectic
practice, may have been the high point of western
energetic herbalism.
Stephen Harrod Buhner/Foundation for Gaian Studies
Stephen Buhner has written some of the best herb books
I’ve read. His Secret Teaching of Plants, Sacred Plant Medicine and Sacred and
Herbal Healing Beers may be among the most well
written herb books available. Here are
some
articles he’s written… and be sure to check out
The Taste of Wild Water...
Dale Pendell
Dale
Pendell is the author of the incredible “Pharmako-“
trilogy, consisting of Pharmako/Poeia, Pharmakodynamis
and Phamako/Gnosis. These books are
explorations into the relationship between people and
“power plants”… not simply "psychedelics", but all
the plants that affect our consciousness, from
Tobacco, Coffee & Marijuana to Tea, Absinthe and
Psilocybes. Pendell’s writing is astounding, a
blending together of botany, poetry, alchemy and
herbcraft. These are among my favorite
books, and while that’s not an endorsement of the
“poison path” they document, I feel they offer a
unique wisdom not to be found elsewhere. The
L.A. Times interview is an excellent
introduction to this original voice of plant lore.
I'd consider these among my favorite plant books ever
written. Shame he didn't write on Calamus...
Adam
Seller's Pacific School of Herbal Medicine
Adam's site for
his school is quite valuable in that it has some very
nice
recipes, capped by
the phrase, "Never
trust an herbalist who's not a good cook."
Wise words...
He's also got
some very admirable info on
Horsetail and Ragweed... not the usual stuff you
always see under those herbs. I'm charmed by a
clever humor that seems to permeate the writing...
A Modern Herbal
Online
Grieve's classic, searchable. This is an
incredibly valuable resource, and one that's not given
as much credit as it deserves. Grieve offers an
immense variety of folk uses and folklore not readily
found elsewhere. I'll often print out entries to
take a highlighter to, since I wouldn't dare deface a
book with one.
Ryan Drum
Hmm... Ryan
Drum's site is very cool, but there are certainly
some "interesting" ideas offered here and there that
might make you scratch your head (thinking
specifically about a notion offered in "Herbs for
Men's Health" about x and y chromosomes...).
Nonetheless, one of the reasons herbalism is so
interesting is because we're all such a bunch of
characters, (I've got plenty of oddball theories
myself, if you'd believe it...), and Ryan's site is
exceptional in that several of his articles offer
ideas to ponder you'll not readily find elsewhere...
that's always a treat.
Maria Treben
Some of the
herbal entries from Maria Treben's Health from God's
Pharmacy...
Smoke Plants
Mairi Ross has
authored a delightful book on the oft maligned act of
smoking dried plants, and covers over 150 in the
process. The book is a real treat, with pages
like puffs on a pipe... lots of wisdoms to quietly
ponder. Really, one of the only books of its
kind...
United Plant
Savers
United
Plant Savers is dedicated to protecting and
cultivating medicinal plants threatened by habitat
loss and commercial overharvest. As herbs like
Goldenseal, Black Cohosh, American Ginseng and Wild
Yam are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, UpS
works to both preserve and propagate them.
Their website lists their events calendar,
offers ways you can help preserve plants in your area,
and provides membership info (hint hint).
Herbal
Listserves and Forums...
These are the herbal email listserves and forums I
know of and would recommend checking out.
There are undoubtedly more (Henriette has a list
here, and even that
probably leaves out lots). I haven't included
lists or forums focused on homeopathy, TCM or
ayurveda - I'm just not knowledgeable enough in
these areas to pick out the good ones. The
ones I have included here are all, I deem, very
nice. Like all things, though, each has its
own flavor and one list or forum may bug one person
and be the delight of another. The best way to
find out which are the good ones are to try them out
and decide for yourself.
I would also advise those with
addictive personalities to consider the impact of
numerous forums (and the myriad ways they can teach
you something new) on their time management and
productivity. The same considerations one
would keep in mind when dealing with heroine or
gambling should be remembered when one realizes that
they're in the midst of an herblist fit.
I'd also like to acknowledge and
(namelessly) thank some of the very skilled and
gifted herbalists who post on these open lists,
rather than avoiding them in favor of
"professional-only" lists. I find their
openness and willingness to share highly admirable,
and praise them for so freely giving of their time
and wisdom.
Henriette's
Herblist
Henriette Kress offers an excellent herbal listserve
replete with wise herbfolk who share insights
opinions and ideas on herbs and their use. The
list's archives are phenomenal; and an
incredible resource (though unfortunately not
searchable). Henriette's list is very well
moderated; which saves its members from spam, two
word replies that contain another 80 lines of
previous posts, and off-topic chit chat, but does
require members who want to post to learn the basics
of "netiquette"
(snipping unnecessary text from replies, not
replying "thanks!" to every individual email
recieved, and staying on the topic of herbs). For
this bit of effort, the wealth of knowledge it
offers is priceless... another reason to value this
herb maven who has made more information freely
accessible than perhaps anyone else online.
You can subscribe
here.
The AHG Herbstudent List
The herbstudent list was begun and few years ago
and, like henriette's list, offers an immensity of
collective insight. There are less requirements for
people who want to post (editing previous replies in
posts isn't a requirement), and so in that way
perhaps a bit more accessable, but that also means
you will occasionally get the short reply with
paragraphs and paragraphs of previous posts before
it, and the occasional spam from that illustrious
web dezian "bikerboy35247" (who ~is~ that guy
anyway?). This is, though, not a big problem and the
list is in no way as spam-laden as some other yahoo
groups. A big bonus with this group is that members
can search the archives. Nice.
Rebecca Hartman's Herbwifery
Forum
Rebecca's herbwifery forum is, first and foremost,
not a forum just for women, and in no way not
inclusive to men who want to be involved. I feel
that it is perhaps the nicest forum-style message
board online, due, no doubt, to the intention of
Rebecca herself,
who I deem pretty damn cool. The forum's focus, if
it can be summed up in so few words, is the practice
of energetic folk herbalism. Or perhaps you could
call it a forum for the village herbalist with an
energetic perspective. Or perhaps you could, as
Rebecca has, just call it
herbwifery. A very
valuable resource with a bunch of cool members.
Susun Weed's Wisewoman Forum
The Wise Woman Forum is, like the herbwifery forum,
not "for women only", but its focus is rooted in the
wise woman tradition as laid out by Susun in her
books. If you're one of the folks who has been put
off by Susun's iconoclastic personality or behavior,
the forum doesn't really go there, and she herself
has little to do with it (I believe that its run by
her daughter Justine, who, if I were to make
assumptions about a person I haven't met just by
reading a smattering of her posts, seems to possess
a keen insight and sense of perspective that I find
both honest and honorable). Its a forum with a
flavor all of its own, and there are jewels to be
found there that are seen far lest often on other
lists. there's more space there for off topic (but
connected) posting. If I had one gripe with it, its
that there are too many separate forums; for
example, I have no idea why the herbal medicine
chest, herbal allies, and health and wellness
questions need to have separate boards... but maybe
that's just an issue for me, who has to wait longer
to get through these in (alas) the land of dial up
internet connections...
Tribe Forums
tribe.net has a number of herb forums (like
this,
this,
this and
this), and there
are probably some worth checking in on, though on
the whole I find the whole Tribe format way to
confusing and cluttered and almost all the boards
seem littered with spam and irrelevant posts. They
tend to lack cohesion. Still, it is a
resource, and there are some unique tribes and
postings.
Blogs...
Henriette's Herbal Blog
Like her site, this is probably one
of the best on the web, and especially nice as the
comments are shown without having to go look for
them. Henriette's blog posts range from
amusing to invaluable.
Gaia's Gifts
Darcey Blue's ruminations on plants
and herbalism, fully infused with her curiousity,
exuberance and good energy. She's been
sharing some of the insights she's gleaned at Paul
Bergner's
North American Institute of
Medical Herbalism with
us all, and that's quite a nice opportunity for
those of us who wish we could attend, but will have
to do so at some other time or in some other life...
Kiva Rose
Kiva has set up
a nice blog, focusing
primarily on desert, mountain and riparian
("riparian" is such a damn cool word) plants of the
Gila. She teaches at and stewards the
Anima Center, a
spiritual/botanical/ecological sanctuary in New
Mexico. Kiva is also one of my herbalist
writing buddies, and her
prose and poetry
are more than worthy of perusal.
Herbwyfe's Kitchen
Rebecca
Hartman's excellent blog posts are nicely thought out and
clearly presented, with a real nice cross
referencing system to look up info she's written
about by plant or topic. The topics surround
the use of herbs, but stray into the regions of diet
and lifestyle which are inseparable from well being. A nice, grounded
sensibility comes through in her writing that makes
the sometimes confusing concept of herbal energetics clear
and easy to grasp. Rebecca has also set up a
nice
discussion forum...
The Herbalists Path
Angie Goodloe's
blog is a delightful blend of herbal insights,
stories, recipes and adventures, repleat with real
nice pictures and
hitherto untold uses for
nettles... fun.
Dandelion Revolution
Celia's blog -
I actually don't know her in the least, and its
unusual for me to add links to folks who I have no
connection to, but since discovering this gem in
Rebecca Hartman's
links, I've enjoyed Celia's very nicely presented
posts, which admirably offer unique insights not
found here there and everywhere else.
A Radicle
Guido Mase's
blog, filled with beautiful photos, insights and
lively commentary on recent news in the herb world;
he also runs
Grian Herbs.
I met Guido at the 8th International Herb Symposium,
and declare him a groovy dude.
Planted in Alcohol
This is my
friend Andrea's blog, on her tincture making and
relating escapades. As anyone who's a medicine
making junkie knows, this topic can be ravenously
elaborated on to no end. Just recently started,
she's already offered some nice insights on Sweet
Clover, and I'm hoping for more "ooh and ah" worthy
entries as time goes by.
Kathy Abascal
Jonno's Weblog
Wow. Jonathan Treasure's blog entries are, for a
lot of us, kind of like reading cuneiform.
They're very much clinically oriented, and unless
you really dig on reading medical/scientific
abstracts, they're likely to seem a bit daunting.
Regardless, he's a very knowledgeable fellow, and
his posts are worth a browse, if only to chuckle at
the pokes and jibes he takes at unfounded headlines
and uninformed rhetoric.
Identification...
Missouri
Plants*
This
site has the best pictures of wildflowers I
know of… usually several per plant; showing the
flower, leaves, the whole plant and any significant
identifying characteristics. Plants are not listed
by common names, which will reinforce the lesson that
you can’t get around needing to know the Latin
names for plants.
*Dan Tenaglia, who ran this site, tragically died in
February of '07. His wife has kept it up and
running, in honor of his passion for plants, but
doing so requires effort and support. If you
value this site and wish to help support its
maintenance, you can make a donation to the
“Dan Tenaglia
Foundation”: 1416 Victoria Avenue, Opelika, Alabama
36801.
MSU Turf Weeds
Is it growing in your lawn?
Check out the MSU Turf Weeds site, which has some
nice pics of common lawn weeds...
Virginia Tech's Dendrology Site
ID a tree by leaf or needle(s)... one of the easier to use identification sites
with good photos...
Hey... those aren't Nettle...
False Nettle (Boehmeria
cylindrica)
Clearweed (Pilea pumila)
Are they medicinal? All I've
ever found is that the the Cherokee "rubbed the stems
(of Clearweed) between the toes to alleviate itch, and gave the tea
to curb the appetite" (from James
Duke's Northeast Indian Medicinal Plants)
Mushrooms...
There's very good
mushroom identification information available at
Mushroom Expert.com;
if you're interested in our fungal friends,
that might be one of the best resources online.
In addition to excellent pics and descriptions of a
lot of species (listed in the box in the top right
corner of the page), there's info on easily identified
edibles, deadly poisonous species, primers of morel &
boletus gatherers, and technical info to help with
understanding mushroom field guides, taxonomy, spore
microscopy, etc etc; on & on...
Hen of the Woods/Maitake
Grifola frondosa...
...mushrooms do not get
better than this
(another good pic)
Turkey Tail
Trametes versicolor
Chicken of the Woods/Sulphur
Shelf
Laeptiporus sulphureus
Reishi Ganoderma
spp.
Birch Polypore
Piptoporus Betulinus
Robyn Klein offers this info on
how to best prepare a reishi
extract; the same process would apply to
any of the above mentioned mushrooms, and would be
preferable to a 1:2 fresh mushroom tincture or a
standard 1:5 dry mushroom tincture, and even moreso
than a simpler's tincture. The separate water
and alcohol extractions will best extract and preserve
the mushroom's virtues.
Very Poisonous Plants & Mushrooms...
These are strong
enough to kill a person. Please, if you
wildcraft, take as much time to learn how to identify
your local poisonous plants as you take to learn to
identify the medicinal ones.
Hemlock Conium maculatum
Water Hemlock Cicuta maculata
Destroying Angel
Amanita virosa
Death Cap
Amanita phalloides
Deadly Galerina
Galerina autumnalis
Deadly Lawn Galerina
Galerina venenata
Wildcrafters,
Growers, and Medicine Makers…
I feel very strongly about the
responsibility we take in using herbal medicines. In
doing so, we not only take become responsible for our
own well being, but we also take on the responsibility
of the plants we use to nourish our bodies and souls.
Ideally, we can honor this by respectfully gathering
or growing the medicines we use. Sometimes, though,
practicality (be it of time, convenience or whatever)
insists we purchase our herbs. If this is the case,
we must understand that when we buy an herb or herbal
preparation, we assume the responsibility for how it
has been gathered and prepared.
If you’re buying drugstore brand herbs, or
even herbs produced by supplements companies, you’re
most likely financing environmentally destructive
practices. Most convenience stores and supermarkets
carry wildcrafted Goldenseal preparations, which
people buy under the misguided understanding that
it’ll ward off their cold (it does not). It’s
probably ages old and nearly inert, to boot. The
money that this consumption earns encourages plants
and nature to be seen as a commodity, something to
bring in a profit. Again, if you buy these
preparations, you’re paying to support and reinforce
this view. I suspect most of us don’t intend to do
that… wouldn’t you rather your money go directly to an
individual herbalist and their family rather than
support a huge profit-oriented corporation?
I’ve made it a top priority that if I
can’t gather an herb myself, I do my damnedest to get
it directly from the person that did, or, if that’s
not possible, from a source that I know puts as much
emphasis on wildcrafting ethics and integrity as I
do. This effort ensures a number of things: That the
plants are being gathered respectfully and
sensitively, that the ingredients you use to make your
own preparations are top quality, and that your money
and support goes to people who care passionately about
the plants they grow and collect. Our money is a form
of energy, and I think that supporting small scale
family growers, wild crafters and medicine makers is
an excellent place to send that energy. I take great
pride in the fact that I know whose hands unearthed
the Black Cohosh I use, and whose prayers were offered
to the bitterroot I chew.
So here’s a list of people I rely on to
obtain the highest quality herbs and preparations that
can be had, who I know care as deeply about these
herbs as I do. I hope you all will find this
information useful, and support these plant people as
the herbs they collect support us.
Michigan…
Aspen Hill Farm
1878 Anderson Road / Box 753 / Boyne
City, MI 49712 / (231) 582-6790
Steve Edwards grows organic American
Ginseng, Goldenseal, Black Cohosh, Blue Cohosh,
Bloodroot, and other at risk medicinals. I’ve
purchased both dried and fresh Goldenseal roots from
him, and was incredibly impressed by their
quality and vitality; not to mention how well they’ve
worked for me since tincturing them… when I run out,
this will for sure be where I order more from.
Wilderness Herbs
Box
518 / Ishpeming, MI 49849
While you'll have to mail out for a catalog (yes, in
this day and age...), when you get it and see that
it's entirely hand written and illustrated, you'll
appreciate the care you can tell goes into what they
do. Wilderness Herbs offers a very nice
selection of oils, salves and tinctures (one of the
only places I know that offers a Pedicularis canadense
tincture), and what is especially cool, herb kits and
samplers that provide a combination of extracts, oils,
salves and powders.
Yule Love It Lavender Farm
Iris Lee
Underwood's small organic farm offers several
varieties of lavender, in bundles or "you pick".
The first time I was out there and stoof in front of
the gardens on a hot summer day with the breeze
blowing towards me I gained an entirely new
appreciation for lavender the the EO just can't
touch...
Northeast United
States…
I’ve been ordering herbs
through Zack Woods for years now, and can’t recommend
them enough. They grow exceptional Black Cohosh,
which you can get shipped fresh out of the ground to
you and you’ll know why the dried root doesn’t compare
at all. They’ve also got many other at risk and
otherwise useful herbs, and both Melanie and Jeff have
been a pleasure to work with every time I’ve ordered.
Kate Gilday and Don Babineau have
created a line of flower essences made from native
North American trees, shrubs and herbs, as well as
tinctures, oils, salves, creams and, of special merit,
Chaga mushrooms (a truly exquisite tea, Chaga is…).
They also host classes and Kate offers
apprenticeships. I met Kate at the International
Herb Symposium this year, and she's every bit as cool
as she comes across on the phone, and knows really
good songs, too. Excellent results with her
essences, as well...
Nancy and Michael Phillips farm offers excellent
quality herbs and preparations, and more than a few
nice
articles on herbs and
organic apple cultivation. They wrote "The
Village Herbalist" together (now revised as "The
Herbalist's Way"... I must profess I liked
the original title better...) and it is a flat-out
excellent must-have-r. You couldn't capture what
herbalism is about better than they have; very
affirming.
Matthias and Andrea Reisen's herb farm and education
center. They'll teach you about how to grow the
herbs, how to gather the herbs, and do so with
prayerful intent. Beautiful, beautiful herbs.
They offer a number of organically grown medicinals,
and are one of the only places I've seen that offers
Solomon's Seal roots.
Appalachia…
Robin Suggs at Moonbranch
Botanicals offers wildcrafted and organically grown
herbs endemic to the eastern forests of Appalachia. He's gone beyond simple organic cultivation, and is
replicating the natural habitat ecologies the plants
he grows would naturally exist in (in other words, the
plants that naturally prefer poor soil to grow in
aren't cultivated in rich, well composted topsoil. One of the
few places I know that offers fresh or recent dried
Wild Indigo, Solomon's Seal and Stone Root.
Larry Harding grows exceptional Ginseng, organically
cultivating the plant in wild, unamended forest soil
so that it grows in potency as it competes with other
plants in the wild Appalachian soil. The
resultant roots are much stronger and medicinally
endowed than Ginseng given cushy, well composted and
manured garden soil (under a shade cloth) could
approximate. Harding's also offers organic wild
cultivated Goldenseal, Bloodroot, Black Cohosh and
other at risk herbs.
Mushroom Harvest offers
all the mushroom varieties we that herbalists crave,
and then some: Reishi, shiitakes, lion's mane, chaga,
turkey tails, and many others, as powders or kits so
you can grow your own. I met George at the 8th
International Herb Symposium and was blessed to get
some of his cordyceps... divine.
Joe Hollis grows gazillions of herbs
and makes myriad herbal preparations to offer, with
lots of unusual medicinals and formulae. He’ll custom
harvest herbs for you, and has plants and seeds for sale. He
also offers apprenticeships & classes… And, his site
is beautiful and makes me want to visit… check
out the pictures… wow.
Founded by Paul Strauss, Equinox offers a small but
exceptional line of extracts and their damn good
"golden salve". Paul is also the steward of the
United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary in Rutland
Ohio, and damn, does that guy know the land he walks
on. His knowledge of the sanctuary is
astounding, and one shouldn't pass up an opportunity
to join him on a plant walk (just don't believe him
when he says you'll only be 45 minutes...).
Corey Pine Shane offers an exquisite line of really
high quality tincture and such. I've ordered
stuff from him a number of times when I was out of
something and wanted to get a ready made tincture from
an impeccable source. Corey Pine also runs the
Blue Ridge School of Herbal
Medicine in Asheville, NC and offers
consults. Every
time I call to order something from him we always get
into a long, green conversation... he's a cool cat.
Heartland…
White Horse Herbs & Trading Post
386 West 2nd Street / PO Box
646 / Mission, SD 57555 / (605) 856-4925
This
place offers, without a doubt, the best Calamus root
for chewing that I’ve come across, dried as whole
roots and not cut and sifted. They carry lots of
other stuff as well… ask for Alva.
Northwest United
States…
James Jungwirth and Kari
Rein offer hand harvested seaweeds and custom
wildcrafted herbs that grow in the Pacific Northwest.
They don’t stock bulk herbs and such, but rather if
there’s something you need that grows out that way you
can give them a call and they’ll gather for you and
ship it to you. They also carry tinctures, salves and
oils, and a look through their catalog shows some
really nice stuff… one of the only places I know to
get fresh Cactus grandiflorus, or fresh Ragweed
tincture if you didn’t get around to harvesting your
own..
Lexie and Chris grow and collect a multitude of herbs
from their farm and the wildlands of Washington State,
including not only many herbs native to that habitat,
but several other less commonly associated with the
Northwest. They offer contract farming services,
will produce tinctures, oils, or other preparations to
your specs, offer seeds of virtually all the herbs
they produce, and most importantly the quality of
herbs they offer shows their commitment to both the
plants and the people they serve.
You've got to love when you find a resource that
states of their offerings, "We grow or wildcraft all
of them personally".
Michael Pilarski offers a large array of botanicals
native to or naturalized in the Pacific Northwest
(along with a smattering of others here & there),
primarily to be collected from their gardens or
wildcrafted by order. This ensures you the
highest possible quality, and you get to know that the
herbs you receive were specifically gathered for you.
They can also offer preparations of any of the herbs
they offer to suit your needs. Notable among
their offerings (and outside of the typically thought
of northwest herbs) are Wood Betony (Stachys betonica)
and Red Osier Dogwood (commonly called "Red Willow"
when used in smoke blends; it can be difficult to find
quality offerings of these herbs in commerce.
Ryan Drum's wildcrafting. Excellent quality
seaweeds and herbs, including some wonderful rarities
like Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) which
turns purple when you tincture it (!).
This is a BIG organic farm in Oregon
that grows and stocks a wide range of high quality
herbs. You can order fresh herbs here and they’ll
ship them out to you for extraction, or obtain dried
herbs that have been harvested that season (unlike
Frontier, whose herbs are sometimes great and
sometimes who-knows-how-old). They also import some
domestic and foreign botanicals, but will be able to
tell you where they’re from and when they were
harvested. A great place to order spirulina, if you
use it…
Southwest United
States…
Ginger Webb offers a number of tinctures and teas
made from both bioregional and commonly used herbs,
and her stuff rocks. She's a great source for
midwives looking for cotton root bark tincture, as
well as those looking for a source of traditional
southwest & mexican herbs seldom seen available
elsewhere. Ginger also does consults...
Richard McDonald (no direct relation)
offers handcrafted tinctures, salves, oils and bulk
herbs made from southwestern medicinals. He
wild
cultivates the Osha he collects, and I highly
recommend him as a source for Osha tincture. He’s
also got cool and hard to find stuff like Desert
Anemone (which needs to be extracted fresh), Yerba
Mansa and Pedicularis (the western species seem to be
more potent muscle relaxants than our P. canadense…).
Richard's also working on a near-manifesto on his
experience using herbs to treat
diabetes, which is
worth checking out, and an increasing number of
herb monographs...
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